Teva Reinforces Leadership Position in CNS with Acquisition of Auspex

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Auspex Pharmaceuticals have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Teva will commence a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Auspex at $101.00 per share in cash, representing total consideration of approximately $3.2 billion in enterprise value and approximately $3.5 billion in equity value.

This transaction is expected to enhance Teva’s revenue and earnings growth profile and strengthen its core central nervous system (CNS) franchise with the addition of Auspex’s portfolio of innovative medicines for people who live with movement disorders. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both Teva and Auspex, and key shareholders of Auspex have entered into agreements indicating their support for the transaction.

Auspex is an innovative biopharmaceutical company specializing in applying deuterium chemistry to known molecules to create novel therapies with improved safety and efficacy profiles. Its lead investigational product, SD-809 (deutetrabenazine), which leverages Auspex’s deuterium technology platform is being developed for the potential treatment of chorea associated with Huntington’s disease, tardive dyskinesia, and Tourette syndrome, with a pharmacokinetic profile that allows for lower doses resulting in a favorable safety profile.

In 2014, Auspex reported positive results from its Phase III clinical trial for SD-809 in Huntington’s disease, with plans to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for this indication by mid-2015. SD-809 has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of Huntington's disease by the FDA, and Auspex expects regulatory approval and commercial launch for this indication in 2016 in the United States. Topline results for Auspex’s Phase III ARM-TD study of SD-809 as a potential treatment for tardive dyskinesia, a disorder for which there are no approved therapies, are also expected in mid-2015. Other pipeline candidates include deuterated versions of pirfenidone for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and levodopa for Parkinson’s disease. Auspex has an additional 60 molecules in its patent portfolio.